Door latch



W. KNIGHT. 000R LATCH. 7 APPLICATION FILED DEC. 6, 1920.

1,407,758, Patented Feb.28, 1922.

INVENTOR.

W" I B A TTORNEY UNITED sr Tss WILLIAM KNIGHT, LATHROP, CALIFORNIA.

DOOR LATCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 28, 1922.

Application filed December 6, 1920. Serial No. 428,461

citizen of the United States, residing at Lathrop, county of San Joaquin, State California, have lnventedqcertaln new and v useful Improvements in Door Latches; and I do declare thefollowing to be a full, clear} and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this application' This invention relates to improi' ements in door latches, being adaptable for use in any place where a latch will be of service, although feel that it is particularly adaptable for use on automobile doors, where a plain-latch without actual'lockand key means is ordinarily preferred. p

The principal object of my invention is to provide a positive-working latch entirely 7 free of springs and otherdelicate and sensitive parts, such as all other latches for this purpose employ, as far as I am aware, and

which sooner or later cease to function properly, especially under the severe and careless treatment generally accorded them in the. automobile service.

Another object of the invention is to so arrange the Working parts of the device that the latch member itself-need never'be proj ecting fromthe door when the latter is opened,'so that no relatively sharp member protrudes to catch and tear a person's cloth.- ing when entering or leaving the car.

. A third object is to provide a readilyremovable member, the withdrawal of. which will prevent-the latch from being disen-' ga ed.

r further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and vet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purposes for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relat ve arrangement of parts as willfully appear by a perusal "of y the following specification and claims.

"In the drawings similar characters of referenceindicate corresponding part-S 111 the several views.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a door, showing my improved. latch installed therein, a portion of the face-plate having been removed to showthe partshack of the same. I I i Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the latch,

and moved away from the frame.

Fig. 5 1s a fragmentary cross section taken on a line 55 of Fig. 1. i v

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the numerals 1 and2 represent the door andthe door frame respectively.

I Arranged to be socketed into the dooris a casing 3 constructed similarly to those at present used to contain latch mechanisms. and provided with a face plate 4 which fits flush with that edge of the door which lies adjacent the edge of the frame 2.

Side. grooves 5 are provided between the plate 4. and the adjacent edges of the casing 3, to receive an intermediate plate 6 therein, free to slide easily, up and down. said plate being provided with a vertical slot 7 adjacent its lower end to receive therethrough the outerend of a latch member 8 loosely pivoted in the casing 3, and counterweighted A to fall by gravity when raised up-to a'pre determined point about its pivotal connection. 1 1 'A heavy smooth ball 9 is slidable on and supported by a split track 10 above the latch 8, this track sloping upwardlyfrom front to back of the casing and adapted to project through the slot 7, the latter being of sufficient width to allow of this.

The outer plate 4: is also slotted as at 11 to allow'of the projection ofthe latch therethrough, this portion of the slot widening out from its lower toits upper end, and said upper end terminating in a circular portion 12 of a diameter smaller than that of the ball, so that the latter can only project part waytherethrough, said latterport-ion 12 bei ing in alinement with the track 10. I

Above the ball and loosely and pivotally mounted in the casing 23 is a segmental gear 13, the uppermost and outermost tooth of which engages the uppermost ofa number of tooth-slots 14: cut in the plate 6 when the latter is in its lowermost position, the gear being suitably v V retain it normally in the position just described. On the opposite end of the gear from the aforementioned outermost tooth is v a handle 15 projecting through a curved slot I 52, the shape of this socket fromtop to bot-j tom being the same as that of the slot 11,.

still be held 16 in the casing 3 and door 1, this slot being of course concentric with the pivotal con nection of the gear, and being either on the inside or the outside of the door, or both.

A latch-socket 17 is provided in the frame except that the upper circular portion is omitted, the slotl'? terminating below the I plane of such portion. c

The operation of the device is as follows:

Presuming the door to be locked as in Fig. 2, to release the latch the handle 15 is moved toward the edge of theTdoor. This causes the plate 6 to be raised, and the lower end of the slot 7 therein b'earingagainst the under side of thefilatch, th'e'latter is raised out of the socket l7. lVhen thus raised to its fullest extent, the tip of the latch isjust adjacent the ball, and is inwardly of the plane of the center thereof.

Then when the door is inovedaway from the door frame, the ball is free to roll downwardly and outwardly, on the outside of the latch-tip, as far as the limits of the orifice 12 will permit. Simultaneously, the handle 15 may be released, which williallow the gear and plate 6 to at once resume their original positions, owing to the action of gravity aided by the looseness of their mounting. At the same time the latch will tact of the round surface of the ball with the edge of the door frame pushes the ball inwardly, causing it to rise at thesame time owing to the angled track, and thus freeing the latch.

The seating of the latch isaidedby the shape of the socket 17 and slot ll, and also journaling of the latch member,

bythe loose which allows considerable latitude of side movement at the beginning of its down ward movement, which isgradually lessened to a snug fit in the socket when the latch fi ally-com s to est.

counterweighted as at 13 to inactive by the ball, and will only be released to again fall" into a lock ahead of said latch. when In order to provide a simple means for holding the latch locked, the pivotal pin of the door may if desired be in the form of a removable screw 18. By withdrawing this screw when the latch is locked, it will be seen that the gear cannot be rotated to raise the latch.

At the same time the gear cannot drop in the casing, since it is supported at one end by the plate 6 andat the other by the handle bearing in the slot.

From the-foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit o-f the invention. as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my'invention', what I claim asnew and useful and desire to secure by Letters ,Patent'is:

1. A door latch comprising a latch member pivotally mounted in the .door andadapt ed to normally lie in a horizontal position.

and to then project, from the door, meansfor raising the latch to lie in a substantially vertical position and inwardly beyond :the edge'oflthe door andan independent gravitycontrolled member mounted above the latch and adapted. to hold the same againstresuming its normal locked position when the doom is .moved away from the door frame.

2. A door latch-comprising a latch member pivotally mounted in thedoor and adapted to normallylie in a horizontal position and to then project from the door, means forraising the latch to lie in a substantially alinement with teball and through which .rertical position and inwardly beyond the the ball may partially protrude when the door is opened, said ball then dropping into said orifice aihead'of the latch.

3. Adoor latch comprising a latch memher pivotally mountedinthe door and adapted to nornally lie ina horizontal position and to then project from the door, means for raising the latch to lie in a substantially vertical position and inwardly beyond the edge of the door, a track in the .door sloping upwardly from the outer edge thereof above the latch, and a ball on said track, said ball being ar-Pangedto roll downwardly and to prevent the same from resuming its locked position when the door is opened, the ball then projecting from the door. i

4. A door latch including a latch member adapted to project intoa door socket, a gear operatively connected to said latch and the latter is raised adapted to be rotated to disengage the latch from the socket, and a removable pin forming the axis of said gear.

5. A door latch including a latch mem- 5 her adapted to project into a door socket,

a gear operatively connected to said latch and adapted to be rotated to disengage the latch from the socket, a removable pin forming the axis of said gear, and means whereby the gear will be maintained in proper 10 alincment when the latch is engaged and the pin withdrawn.

In testimony whereof I ail-ix my si nature.

WILLIAM KNIfii-IT. 

